Four Ways to Boost Milk Supply

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You’ve made the decision to breastfeed your baby. You’re minding your own business and everything is fine until one day you notice that your little angel is never satisfied after nursing. Suddenly you feel like panicked feeling. You begin to think, Is this it? Am I losing my milk supply? What is going on?? You drag out your breast pump and while you understand it won’t be the same result as your sweet babe’s suckling you have to figure out if your supply is decreased. Despite waiting three hours to pump, your results are less than what you have been able to pump before. Your fear has become a reality: your supply has, for some reason unbeknownst to you, taken a dip.

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That was me 7 years ago with my son. At four months The Boy wanted to eat every hour and a half and was never satisfied after I fed him. Worried, I looked for natural ways to boost my supply.

Four ways to boost milk supply

First things first – nurse, nurse and more nursing!

Your body knows what to do. It works on supply and demand. If you’re able to, stay home for a few days and do nothing but nurse your baby. Relax, watch TV and cuddle that little one while she helps boost your supply. This obviously would be easier said than done, especially if you only have one child, but if you can swing it why not give it a try?

Look at factors that may be contributing to supply.

Are you taking any allergy medication? Do you smoke? Is there a lot of stress in your life? Are you eating enough? Are you staying hydrated? Are you supplementing with formula, bottle-fed breast milk or solids? These are all things that can affect milk supply. I realized that the problem with my supply was the allergy medication that I was taking. Allergy medication works by draining the mucus from your cavities (sinuses, etc.), however, the same is true of your milk ducts. At least that’s how my lactation consultant explained it to me. Once we figured that out, I stopped the medication and started using a galactagogue.

What is a galactagogue?

A galactagogue is a substance that helps increase milk supply; the substances can be herbal or prescribed by your physician. A galactagogue, even the herbs that naturally increase milk production, should be used as a last resort. I used fenugreek and it definitely helped boost my supply. Reader be warned though – if you take fenugreek your milk and poop will smell like maple syrup; your baby will smell like it too! Other galactagogues are blessed thistle and alfalfa. As always, and even with herbal remedies, consult with a trusted physician or lactation consultant before consuming. The herb, fennel, can be used to aid in letdown which would be good to use if you need to pump more frequently due to working full-time.

Bring on the cookies!

The web has a ton of lactation boosting cookie recipes. When looking for a recipe you’ll want to find one that includes the ingredients oatmeal, Brewer’s yeast and flax seed. Do not purchase quick cooking oats; you need the old fashioned kind. And the Brewer’s yeast? A good, hearty dark beer does help boost milk supply and Brewer’s yeast does too. As for the flax seed – buy the milled kind.

Remember, before you start fretting look at your baby: Is he satisfied after a breastfeeding session? Is he gaining weight? If the answer is “yes” to those questions chances are your supply is fine and there’s no need to worry.

And if you have an oversupply problem or think you might read about Laura’s experience here.

As the creator of the lifestyle blog and book, Me Before Mom, Bert supports millennial moms facing the challenges and changes of motherhood. Me Before Mom is an online community that offers support through real life stories, encouraging advice, and answers to questions about how a woman maintains herself during this self-sacrificial time of parenthood. Stories from Bert Anderson have helped women across the globe through the Huffington Post, Today’s Parent, and on the Harry show. Whether weathering the first year of motherhood or walking through the later stages of motherhood, Bert has helped many continue to find herself while still in the throes of motherhood. Purchase your copy of Me Before Mom: Putting Your Oxygen Mask on First today!

4 Comments

Kasey Fishburn
on July 13, 2016 at 11:35 am

i eat old fashioned oatmeal like its candy to help boost my milk supply.. and being a stay at home mom my little one is on an on demand basis usually every hour that she isn’t napping

Rachel
on July 16, 2016 at 6:51 pm

Eating cookies would definitely be my favorite reason 😉

Meaghan Flanagan Angle
on July 23, 2016 at 12:26 pm

Lactation cookies are delicious! The biggest problem in my house is keeping my husband away from them.